Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Japan 2008
JAPAN 2008
This was my third trip to the land of the rising sun and people ask why I keep going back? Simple, they still hold true all the values that I grew up with as a kid that have disappeared from western decivilization.
There is virtually no crime, people are courteous to each other, it’s immaculately clean and I think what best represents their society, kids can still go to school in their uniforms on the subway and buses, unescorted, as young as 6/7 years old, just like I did in London light years ago.
Oh yeah, and by the way the women are beautiful and the food is exquisite.
I had booked this trip in Sept. 2007 and I was originally going to travel on to Beijing after Tokyo and return via Shanghai but when the Chinese Government decided to change all the visa rules and up the fees before the Olympics, I decided I would rather spend the whole 2 weeks in Japan, besides how could I go to Japan and not visit Osaka.
My original business class routing was out to Tokyo on a nonstop JAL flight but return was only on JAL to San Francisco and then American to JFK. I had tried in vain for months to get the JAL nonstop return but it was always sold out. Imagine my surprise when I called to cancel the Chinese legs and was told the nonstop return was available and all for the same $100 change fee, I was ecstatic, there is a god.
Friday May 23, and I arose at 3am, all week I had been getting up earlier to adjust for the jet-lag. My flight was not until 1:30pm so I went for a 5 mile walk to limber up my legs for the long flight. Before heading for JFK I had the traditional New York breakfast, everything bagel, lox & cream cheese. After checking in I enter the JAL Sakura lounge, this is why I love to use my domestic frequent flyer miles on foreign carriers, the experience starts at JFK. Unfortunately since the last time I was here they have taken out the automated beer machines, they were so cool, hopefully they still have them at Narita for the return leg.
The flight was uneventful, I ate some excellent Japanese food all the way and drank good French wine with a few sakes thrown in for good measure. The beef curry snack is a great offering an hour before landing, gets you through customs/immigration and into Tokyo.The guy next to me slept most of the way, just waking for meals. The Japanese seem to have remarkable knack for doing this, I’ve watched them on the trains, one moment sound asleep, the train pulls into their stop, eyes open, get up and get off.
Saturday, we arrive at Narita early, 4pm, but a 40 min. immigration line negated the early arrival. After getting through I came out to find the Citibank machine was not working, I used 7 Bank and they only charged Y210 ($2) fee for Y50,000 ($470) withdrawal.
I went downstairs to the JR rail office to exchange my Japan railpass voucher and get a Suica card which gets you a discount Narita Express ticket to all Tokyo stations for Y1500, normally the one way fare to Shinjuku is Y3150. The Suica card cost Y3500 which includes the Narita Exp. and Y1500 credit on the card, the card can be used for travel on all Tokyo JR train, subways and buses, it can also be used in most convenience stores. There were no seats on the next train so I would have to wait until 6pm, it was now only 10 past 5 so time for a beer. Surprisingly compared with the rest of the country, where there are vending machines all over the place selling beer it was hard to find a beer outside security at the airport. I finally found a little food stand that served draft Sapporo for Y500, I felt a little guilty giving the guy a Y10,000 note, but he did not bat an eyelid, could you imagine the reaction at La Guardia or JFK, $100 bill for a $5 beer. At this rate I would not make Shinjuku until 7 30pm, will miss happy hour at The Hub but early for Mothers.
On the train I met an interesting man who worked for Epsom printers and was returning from Sydney, he was amazed that someone born in England, schooled in Ireland and living in Greenwich Village, New York, would find Japanese culture and society enjoyable. When we arrived at Shinjuku, I was done but he still had a 3 hour local train ride to Matsumoto, a long distance salary man!
God it felt good to walk out of Shinjuku station into the madness of the Tokyo Saturday night, it was electric, all the neon and flashing video screens, thousands of people, brilliant. Lugging a bag I took the slightly longer route around by the Prince Hotel to my hotel, The Vintage, rather than fight my way through Ichi-Ban-Dori (known locally as Piss Alley). Upon checking in, I dropped my bag and made a beeline to the Irish pub just down the street (The Angel) for a pint and small portion of fish n chips, they don’t just eat raw fish, they are bloody good at cooking it too. I wanted to know if they would have the Monaco GP on Sunday but they had no clue what I was on about, they were showing a replay of Manchester United v Wigan, it’s a Utd. pub. I had a second beer then took a stroll around the neighbourhood, it almost felt like coming home, fantastic. It was now around 10pm, I was starting to feel a bit knackered so I headed for Mothers, a few nightcap beers and some heavy metal, I even had a laugh with some of the African pimps outside.
Sunday I woke-up early and it was drizzling, had been raining all week, stories on news showed floods in some places. Everything was still closed so I decided to take a train ride on the Yamanote line going nowhere in particular, but then figured, why not look up The Oak Inn where I’m staying later in the week. I had not brought the directions with me but I found it no problem, but then the skies grew darker and I headed back to Ueno Station, just as I got onto the platform it started to really come down, I got soaked from the station back to the hotel.
After a shower and change the rain had let-up so it was off to the Shinjuku Gardens which I had missed on my 2 previous visits, beautiful but not as nice as the ones in Kyoto.
It was now past 1 pm and time to head for the fashion parade in Harajuku followed by The Menji shrine with a doner kebab for lunch thrown in the middle. I had seen some of these girls around Harajuku on previous visits in their bizarre fashions but Sunday is the Full Monty, they go all out to be outrageous and shock the average Joe in the street, great stuff. I just walked around with my camera on film mode.
At the Menji Temple I made my usual request for Spurs to do well this season and beat Chelsea, there was a wedding going on which caught my attention, I started to film the bridesmaids when I realized this was just like Bruno & Leslie’s wedding but in reverse. When they had exited Grace Church on Broadway back in 1992 there was an open top double decker bus stuck in traffic and all the Japanese tourists started filming the wedding, funny how things come around.
The doner kebab shop is an authentic Turkish one run by Turks and I later found out they have quiet a few of them dotted around the city.
Returning to Shinjuku I had a few G’nT’s at the Hub Pub then went for dinner at the spinning sushi restaurant opposite the Prince Hotel, I love the eel. I could not find anyplace showing the F1 but someone on Speed.Com forums had said it was on regular TV, delayed @ 10:30pm, so I went back to the hotel with a couple of tins. I never found it and fell asleep.
Monday I got a combo rail ticket and onsen pass to Hakon on the Odakyu railway romance car with free shuttle pick up from station, this was something I’ve wanted to do for years. It was fantastic, the water was about 120 degrees, not to hot, some go as high as 130 plus. It had both in and out door pools, total bliss.
After a couple of hours I looked like a cooked lobster, I wonder if they feel his good when getting cooked?
I then took the Hakon Tozen switchback railway up through the mountains to Gora where I thought I would have lunch, but there was nothing there. There was one decent looking/smelling restaurant but they had a big sign saying “members only”? This was a one horse town, I could not even find a sandwich, which are normally available everywhere so I caught the next train back down and return on the romance car to Shinjuku.
I just made it for happy hour @ The Hub {gin n tonic Y260} followed by lots of eel @ the spinning sushi bar, caught a buzz and was fed all for less than Y2000 ($18), pretty good for anywhere, but great for Tokyo.
It was only 8pm but I was knackered, the onsen had really taken it out of me so grabbed a couple of tins and headed for the hotel, besides tomorrow was an early start for the fish market, I had planned on Wednesday but it was closed.
Tuesday I got up at 6am and headed for the Tsukiji fish market, best sushi I have ever had @ 7am for breakfast, melt in the mouth good. The place next door had a line of tourists because it did a special for Y3500, my place was all Japanese and ala carte, cost me Y4600 {4 eel, 2 salmon, 2 tuna, 1 abalone & 1 sea urchin} I was stuffed.
The market is a hive of activity and you will get mown down if you are not careful, could not actually get into where they have the auctions but this was someplace I have always wanted to visit, might have to do this followed by the onsen again next week when I return from Osaka.
The market sells more than just fish, virtually everything you can think of and then some, but T shirts I had seen in Harajuku were more expensive here, good excuse to go back, like I need one!
It was moving day so I had to get back to Shinjuku to check out. I left my bags with the hotel and went I search of the Japanese sword museum which is in Yoyogi, via the west side of Shinjuku which I had never visited.
The area is all modern high rise buildings which are either government offices or high end chain hotels like Hilton Marriott etc., not normally someplace that would interest me, but there is supposedly a nice central park and temple which I wanted to explore.
I was very surprised when I got to the entrance to the park and found a lot of homeless men, but what was even more surprising, was that they have erected a small shanty town right in the middle of the park, very unjapanese.The park was very shabby and the temple very ordinary.
I walked down through the back street to Yoyogi, but I could not find the sword museum, so I hopped on a bus to Shibuya. My first time on a bus in Tokyo and it is much better than taking the trains for seeing day to day goings on.
It was a very hot day so when I got off the bus I went into the Tokyu department store to cool off and check out the foodhall, it was incredible, but I was still full from the sushi and decided to walk it off by walking the one stop back to Harajuku, it was akin to walking up Madison Avenue, a lot of high end retail outlets.
Harajuku is a very different place on weekdays, a lot quieter, after my 30 minute walk from Shibuya in eighty plus degrees I was gasping for a beer and I had not seen any bars here, so I nipped into the kebab shop. The place was empty and I got chatting to the counter guy, he was from Istanbul, originally a Beshiktas fan but now a Juventus fan as he had lived in Turin for 20 years before moving to Japan where he has now been for 10 years. He had married a Japanese woman and she bankrolled a restaurant in Nagano but when they got divorced she pulled the plug and he is happy now working the counter with no responsibilities.
When I left the kebab shop I strolled up fashion alley, it is truly one of the most fascinating streets in the world, like Carnaby Street, London, back in the sixties.
Out of the 7-11 in front of me came a guy in full samurai costume carrying his bagged lunch, only a few people gave him a second look so I assumed he worked in one of the stores, I sped up my pace to catch him and get a photo when I noticed he had a full policeman’s utility belt, gun, handcuffs, ammo clips etc. A couple teenage boys stopped him for a photo so I got one also.
I rode the Yamanote line 2 stops back up to Shinjuka to pick up my bag, as I walked back to the Vintage I noticed a new bar “St. James” and unusual for Japan it was open at 2:30pm, perfect, it was boiling hot and time for a cold one.
I got around to the Oak Hotel by 4pm and checked in, a slightly larger room than the Vintage but no electronic Japanese toilet, a big disappointment and no fridge, bummer. I took a wonder around my new neighbourhood, Asakusa, there were a lot of home shrine stores for ashes which I thought strange, but then I came upon a crematorium and it made sense. Later I wanted to catch the end of happy hour at The Ueno Hub and stay on for the Japan vs Paraguay game at 7:15pm.
I was amazed when I walked into The Hub, the place was empty but virtually all the tables had reserved signs on them, there was one deuce hightop left with decent sightlines to the big screen, so I grabbed it and order the proverbial G’nT.
Ten past seven and the placed filled up and everyone was wearing Japan shirts. I had only looked at the J League fixtures before departing, had I seen this on the schedule I could have gone as it was only up the road in Saitama, which is virtually a suburb of Tokyo. When the broadcast came on I could see the stadium which seats around 70,000 was less than half full, but once the game started I was glad I had not gone, it was crap, Japan used to have a decent team when they had a Brazilian coach, now they were running around like headless chickens, the Paraguayans were not much better, 0-0.
Wednesday and I finally get a morning to lye in, nothing that can’t wait, I’m going to visit the Senso-Ji temple on the other side of Asakusa. Inaricho Stn. on the Ginza subway line is right around the corner from The Oak so I hopped it the 2 stops to the end of the line Asakusa Stn. which is right beside the Sumida River. I got an egg n tomato sarny with some green tea and sat down by the river for breakfast.
Upon rounding the corner to the temple I was amazed at what confronted me, to my right was the temple with the huge lantern hanging in the arch at the entrance and too my left was a market of hundreds of food and souvenir stands packed with thousands of people, most of whom were school kids. It was an incredible sight, I had been expecting a place like the Menji shrine where everyone was very reverent and polite, this was a zoo. About 70% of the stalls were selling confectionary and deserts, it’s amazing the Japanese penchant for sweet things, yet everyone is so thin!!
After a quick shufty around the temple I decided to walk back to The Oak via the back streets, I pasted some great little restaurants and was very tempted but it was not long since breakfast and I was thinking about having lunch in a Ginza dept. store restaurant.
It was another very hot day and after a forty minute walk I was very glad to see The Oak, have a shower and change, twenty minute turnaround and I was back down in the air conditioned subway. What a difference from NY, in Tokyo you find reasons to go on the subway on a hot day.
The Ginza was worse than I had expected, Gucci, Chanel, Cartier, Dior etc., it was actually worse than Fifth Ave. in the 50’s but still full of the same tourists, I headed towards the Imperial Palace but still needed to find lunch. I came upon the Shinkansen lines and realized this was where Steve, Dave and myself had found ourselves lost 3years ago beside Yurakucho Stn. which had a thriving lunch business going on underneath it’s arches. After surveying all the fare on offer I finally settled on curry and had a great pork curry with a beer for Y1800 ($17).
Well sated I headed for The Palace, although I had been here 3 years ago and found it very dull we had completely missed the gardens, but first I sat down to write some postcards and just watch the swans on the moat.
The gardens were absolutely stunning and the smell totally overwhelming, it was a kaleidoscope of colours, truly worthy of being The Imperial Palace gardens.
Happy hour was now beckoning and I had read about a beer aficionado’s heaven in The New York Times travel section back in October 2007, called Popeye’s, which was located just the other side of the Sumida River in Ryougoku. Actually it was not far from The Oak but would require either 2 subways or 2 JR’s,
I got there just after they opened and could tell right away this was my kind of place, I took a seat at the bar and was blown away by the variety of beer in front of me, their web address is www.fortybeersontap.com but now they have 70, WOW!
I started with a half pint of Baird Special Dark Wheat, recommended by the bartender, a seasonal special, only available this week, it was excellent, rich, full & citrus. I had been a bit apprehensive about Japanese microbrews but I could not wait to taste more Baird’s, next I had their Rising Sun pale ale, good and very hoppy, time to step it up, next I tried the gravity cask Preston pale ale which reminded me of Fullers bitter and then the hand pump Yona Yona pale ale, my favourite of the night, like London Pride. Oh yes, I was in heaven.
Happy hour consisted of half portions off a limited menu with certain beers, the mixed sausages were a bit strange but the fried chicken was good, I looked at the regular menu and had to try mini mutton steaks wrapped in bacon, unique and tasty.
Thursday morning and it a misty rain was falling over Tokyo, it was the first day of my Japan rail pass and I wanted to head up north into the mountains around Nikko and hopefully find an onsen and some better weather.
I caught a Max Toki tri-level Shinkansen from Ueno to Takasaki and then transferred to a local train for a 1 1/2 hour trip up into the mountains, but the rain was getting heavier and heavier, by the time I got to Naganohara-Kusatsu-guchi Station I was in the middle of a monsoon. There were onsens near the station according to the map but when I went outside they were the other side of a huge gorge, I would get drowned. Then I spotted a bus mark Kusatsu-onsen so I hoped on and hoped for the best.
After about 40 minutes we wound up in a small town above the clouds, some of these onsen towns have public baths right in the middle of town as well as resort hotels around the outskirts. It was of course lashing down just as bad, but I plunged out with my trusty little telescopic umbrella in search of the elusive onsen. After ½ an hour I wound up back at the bus depot, defeated, my bus was just getting ready to return to the train station so I grabbed a kit-kat and green tea for the journey, wow, it was apple flavoured kit-kat, fantastic. The driver just looked at me and shook his head, he must have thought I was a total lunatic, mind you he was not far off but, hey, I was on an adventure.
There was about a 40 minute wait for the next train but there was absolutely nothing around this station except a little dumpling stand and a coffee stand run by an Elvis impersonator, the little shop in the station was closed. I was starving so dumplings it was, she had 3 varieties so I got one of each hoping that one of them would have meat, but I was wrong, they were all variations of seaweed/kelp. I ate the dough and threw the most of the contents away.
Looking down the gorge in this pristine mountain setting and there was a huge construction site, they were building these huge concrete pylons, probably a highway to get the tourists up here quicker, I was glad that I had beaten the hoards here.
Ten minutes before the trains arrival the little shop opened, boy was I glad when I saw she had beer, a couple of tall Sapporo’s would help me down the mountain.
Back in Takasaki I had a twenty minute wait for a Asama shinkansen to Tokyo so I took a wander out of the station, you never know you might see something worth missing the train for but I needn’t have bothered, there was nothing but smoke stacks in every direction, a very industrial town.
The Asama got me into Tokyo just before the start of rush hour, I had no plans because I did not expect to be back this early, so I had to do some quick thinking and came up with going to the Footnik bar in Ebisu, which is about a 20 minute ride on the Yamanote Line.
I got there just as they were opening and was delighted to find they had Yona Yona on draft, it was very quiet with just a few bizmen playing on their laptops and a replay of the Man. Utd. vs Barcelona champions league semi final on the telly, which I watched to while away an hour and avoid the worst of rush hour, could be worse, no Yona Yona!!
There is another decent bar in Ebisu that Steve and had visited on previous occasions but I was not sure exactly where it was and did not fancy traipsing around in the rain, so I jumped on a train one stop to Shibuya to visit The Aldgate, but first a little curry at a cheap Indian place we had found on the last trip.
When I finally got to The Aldgate I was delighted to find they also had Yona Yona and a few of the Baird brews on tap. I got chatting to the barman who was from Killiney, Dublin, he was very surprised that I knew where it was. I explained that I had lived and gone to school in Dublin and had just been there 2 weeks previous and that tomorrow I was headed to Osaka to meet a fellow Dublin southsider who ran a pub there.
Then 2 American lads wandered in, 1 from Iowa and 1 from Missouri and we got talking, they were on an Asian adventure and staying in Japan for a while to pick up some cash, teaching English! It seems everyone does it, the barman had also said he taught a couple of days a week.
It was now about 10pm and time to make tracks back to Ueno as I had an early start in the morning to Kyoto.
Friday, May 30, 2008, I had been worried about getting to Tokyo station during the rush hour from Ueno when it struck me, take the Shinkansen 1 stop from Ueno to Tokyo, which I did, to catch the 9:03 Hikari Superexpress Shinkansen to Kyoto.
With the Japan rail pass you are not allowed to ride the Nozomi expresses which are slightly faster than the Hikari’s so I was surprised and delighted when a Nozomi pulled into my platform and changed the signs to Hikari for the southbound journey, these were the new 700 series cars I had read about and the seats were a lot more comfy.
The weather was overcast and dull as we left Tokyo but brightened as we headed south and by the time we got to Kyoto it was nice day.
Two stops on the Karasuma Line subway, 5 minute walk and my hotel was right where I thought it would be. I dropped my bag off and headed for the Arashiyama area west of the city which has a high density of temples/shrines and is one of the most visited places in Japan. Amazingly 18 months ago when Steve and I got lost using a small private tramway, it was now the same tram that was only a few blocks from my hotel and would take me to Arashiyama,
After a nice serene 20 min. tram ride I disembarked into a street full of crazed teenagers, some in school uniform others like they were going to the prom, total bedlam. If this what it’s like on Friday, what’s it like on the weekend? The whole street was souvenir and sweet shops, good thing I found a small stand doing teriyaki fried pork on a stick with deep fried croquets Y200, I had 1 of each and meandered down the street and over the bridge away from the maddening crowds.
There was not much over the river except an intriguing sign pointing along the river saying “good view”, I bit, it had to be better than the rollicking kids. I kept looking at the buildings across the river waiting for the view to improve but it did not look hopeful when I started to hear the sound of falling water, which is like a magnet for me. Another 15 feet and there was his little triple waterfall, falling about 70 feet off the mountain, beautiful, total silence except for the water, I made a little movie which I will watch over and over.
Last month a journalist wrote a story in The New York Times about Kyoto, entitled “Serenity on $200 a day” he obviously missed this spot.
I walked back through the village and grabbed another stick of pork and a croquet on my way to the Tenryu-ji Temple which is a world heritage site and rightly so, it’s an amazing place. The best gardens I have seen yet.
Back at the tram station I walked to the end of the platform to take a photo of the train and there was a little hot spring foot bath for the weary traveler so I whipped off my sneakers and stepped in, it was glorious, what civility.
The Court Hotel was the largest room I have had in Japan, 2 full size beds, nicely furnished, most importantly an electronic toilet and because it was a corner room, huge glass windows on 2 sides. All this for only Y5750 ($54) pity I could only get it for 1 night, every budget hotel in Kyoto was sold out for Saturday and Sunday nights.
In the article he also mention a few places he had ate and drank in, one of which had a picture, a bar called Majorica, with the owner in the shot, so I brought a copy of it with me figuring, if nothing else it would get me in.
I got there around 8pm and he was just opening, he was uneasy about letting me in until I trust the article into his hands, his face lit up like a Christmas tree, he could not believe it, he was beside himself and I felt this tremendous feeling of well being that I had brought someone this much joy, as Vinnie would say, “it was emotional”. Although the joint was empty I bought a gin n tonic and he gave me a bottle of sake as a thank you, we could not stop bowing to each other until I backed him up to the door and we shook hands, a moment I will always remember.
Down the street I had spotted a funky looking place that had the specials in English outside, so I popped in, as I did, I noticed the name, ZuZu, it had also been mentioned in the Kyoto article. The salmon sashimi was delicious but the fish and cheese spring rolls with sea urchin sauce were out of this world, this is why we travel.
Downtown Kyoto is amazing, all the sidewalks are covered, at first I thought it was just one department store but then realized they were all covered, how convenient.
The street where Majorica is located is known as the Pontocho area, restaurants and bars as opposed to the redlight area across the river known as Gion, famed since ancient times for its geishas, now just hostess bars and hookers.
There were several little street bands playing in various places around town and they all seemed to be playing traditional Irish music, with a violin (fiddle) accordion, flute and Bodhrán (drum), they were quiet good.
Satuday morning and checkout was an early 10am, I checked out at 9 and asked them to keep my bag for awhile. Nijo Castle is nearby so I walked the 1km only to find the parking lot was already packed with tour buses and 60% were school kids. I walked up past the main gate hoping to get a picture of the main tower but there was nothing visible, as I turned to leave some of the buses were already reboarding their passengers! It was 20 to 10 and the castle only opened @ 9am, there can’t be much to see!
It had started out overcast but it was now starting to rain so off down the subway I went, next stop Keage station which is closest to the start of the “Path of Philosophy, a 1km walk past several shrines/temples but after 1 minor stop at some shogun’s mausoleum I came upon The Nanzen-ji Temple complex which was not listed as a biggie on my map, but it was phenomenal, the gardens were beautiful and because it was pouring rain it enhanced the colours and lushness, also the rain kept most people away and I was able to enjoy the serenity.
Back in the early eighties I used to build Japanese gardens in the New York tri-state area for a Japanese guy called Hal Anuji, it turned out I was a natural at building free form stone walls, waterfalls and ponds. Hal would show me his hand drawn sketch and I could bring it to life, now I was seeing where he had received his inspiration, it was awesome.
It was now around noon, I was starting to feel peckish and the die hard tourists with ponchos were starting to show up so it was time for me to say Sayonara.
It starting to rain harder and I could not book into my Osaka hotel until 3pm so I had a great idea, get a box lunch and eat on the train! I grabbed my bag from the hotel and arrived at Shin Kyoto only to find approx 500 school kids sitting on the floor of the terminal, totally blocking the whole place so I just went up to the platform and caught the first train to Shin-Osaka. Amazing, mid day and I had the first class car to myself. Once there I looked at the schedules and picked Himeji as it was just 3 stops and 40 minutes down the line, perfect time to eat a box lunch and have a beer on the way back.
Now another example of my joss, I had been looking for Himeji Castle in Kyoto, not realizing that Himeji was a totally separate city so imagine my surprise as we pulled in and there was the castle right smack in the middle of town. I had my luggage with me so it was not convenient to go visit now but it was only 40 mins from Osaka, I’ll comer back on Monday.
Back to Osaka and my hotel, The Oriental, was just across the street from Awaza subway station, a quieter part of town than where Steve and I had stayed the last time, The Comfort Inn, just off Shinsaiobashi, which is the heart beat of Osaka. That had not been available but this was just 2 subway stops away.
It was back to the small rooms that I have become used to, but this one was only Y5,000 ($47) a night and it had an onsen in the basement, unfortunately there had been a fire down there last week and it was closed.
After settling in and a bit of a rest I headed for Shinsaiobashi, and the bright lights, Osaka has a great variety of street food and I was determined to eat my way around downtown, but first a couple of happy hour beers at the Pig n Whistle pub.
After wandering around Shinsaiobashi for a few hours eating all manner of delicious but unpronounceable foods and absorbing the electricity of the area I finally wound up at Murphy’s Irish Pub which was packed.
Michael was surprised to see me and I was amazed he instantly recognized me and called out my name, “Frank, what are you doing here?, there is no race (F1)” I squeezed into the bar between a lad from Essex and a couple from Sydney who were being regaled by a fellow from Seattle.
The Aussies were on a 1 week whirlwind tour, off to Tokyo in the morning so I gave them a few tips for Shinjuku, Shibuya and of course Popeye’s.
The Essex boy was over here teaching English of course, an Ipswich supporter.
The Seattle man was the most interesting, he had been in Osaka for 30 years and on his 3rd Japanese wife, he was really pissed off when I told him I first went to Seattle for the Man. Utd. vs Celtic game in 2003, he had only heard about it after it was all sold out.
There was also a new Irish bartender behind the stick, Sean, from Kells, County Meath, he had met Michael in Dublin and after hearing all the stories decided to come over a year ago and give it a go. Yes, you guessed it, he is teaching English during the week and 1 night in the bar.
Might have to give this English teaching gig a go one of these days!
Sunday, having witnessed yesterday morning at Nijo castle I knew Sunday at any nationally renowned site would be over run so I picked Wayayama Castle, because it was miles from nowhere, at least according to my reckoning, which proved to be right. Unfortunately this was the castle of a favored shogun general so not as ornate, rather dull in fact. But it was a good visit to a small Japanese town off the beaten path.
I got back to Namba station in Osaka and there was a kids hip hop dance show going on in the station forecourt, I started to make a movie but was quickly and quietly told no. I was a bit miffed until I realized it was being filmed from several angles. They must have thought I was a pirate! Arrr.
I wandered through Namba and came out on Shinsaiobashi, well time for a G n’T at the Pig n Whistle, 5:45pm and I’m the only one there, what’s wrong with this picture?
Hanshin Tigers Osaka vs Nippon Ham Fighters baseball game was on the telly tied at 3-3 in the seventh, perfect, my 2 favored teams. The owner came over to inquire if I wanted to watch something else and we got talking, he has had the joint since 1978 when it was really different to have an English pub but nowadays it does not matter what type of pub you have, Osaka has a very young population and they do not drink, “spend to much time twiddling their thumbs on mobiles” he said.
It’s Sunday night, Michael is not working at Murphy’s so it’s a good night for a movie at home, I grabbed a sushi box in Namba, a bottle of sake at 7-11 on the corner and settled in to watch sexy beast with Ray Winston.
Monday, I was up bright’ n early and headed for Himeji Castle, it dull and overcast in Osaka but when I got to Himeji it was a lot brighter. That’s one of the great things about the high speed trains and the mountainous terrain, ½ an hour and you have completely different weather. I got there just after 9am before the crowds. Himeji is the largest wood and plaster castle in Japan, very impressive and a hell of a climb to the top via a series of narrow steep stairways. Other than it’s size and majesty Himeji is not very discernable from every other castle, no fancy suits of armour, weapons or headgear like Osaka. I almost skipped the gardens but really glad I didn’t, they were some of the most impressive that I saw on the whole trip.
Returning to the train station I passed a small supermarket in an arcade off the main boulevard and stopped in. They had a great variety of sushi bento boxes at half the price of the station so I picked one up for the ride to Kyoto.
By the time I got to Kyoto it was raining again but I have wanted to visit this giant Pagoda that you can see from the train for a couple of years. With my trusty mini umbrella I trudged off in the rain and reached it in about 10-12 minutes, the pagoda itself was very impressive but the surrounding temples were rather uninteresting. Just down the street was a private railway (Kinki Nippon Electric railway) that was just one stop back into the main Kyoto JR station.
I could not get the fish n cheese spring rolls in sea urchin sauce out of my mind since last Friday and had contemplated staying in Kyoto for dinner but it was now only 2:30pm and it was pouring, what to do?
I decided to catch a train back to Osaka where it was also raining and do laundry, very exciting!
I wandered into Shinsaiobashi and had a drink at the pig but the whole area was dead, a combination of Monday and the rain. I found a nice little restaurant in the covered shopping arcade and had breaded pork cutlet w/curry for dinner, very good.
Tuesday, more heavy rain which rulled out going to Nara for the day so lets try the Shinkansen maneuver again and head south to Hiroshima which is a 1 ½ hour trip. Again by the time we passed Himeji the rain was letting up and by Hiroshima it was a nice day.
I have been to Hiroshima 3 years ago with Steve and Dave when we visited the Peace Memorial, where the bomb had exploded, it had been very emotional and I did not want to relive it.
I checked the local map and saw there was a castle but the whole city is less than 50 years old so it is only a replica, I decided instead to visit the Shukkeien gardens which were beautiful and virtually tourist free, in fact I was the only westerner.
This was last day in the south western part of Japan and I wanted to have lunch at the Hanshin Dept. store in Osaka, so I headed back and got a seat on the JR West Rail Star train, when I asked for a green seat I was told there were none, I misunderstood this for no availability only to find out that it is an all biz class train at coach prices. Instead of 3&2 abreast, it was 2&2 like green class but the seats were not as comfortable and had less pitch, it was packed, especially with a lot of backpackers, who all got off at Himeji.
Got back to Osaka just after 1pm and the rain had finally relented, I had a quick walk through the Hanshin basement food court, ahh the glorious sights and smells, I wish I had an apartment to take this all home too.
Off up to the roof to choose a restaurant, they have about 10 and Steve and I had eaten in one the last trip, so I decided to pick one of the others. I got a great lunch of miso soup, sushi and tempura for Y1750 ($16). This was my last day and those spring rolls were still on my mind so off to Kyoto we go. The Hanshin store basement connects straight into the Osaka JR station and I caught an express in 5 mins so I was there in half an hour. Just enough time to visit the Tofukuji Temple just about the last of the major temples, it was nice but nothing spectacular. I toured the whole complex until they closed at 5pm when I caught the Keihan Electric railway back into town.
Kyoto is a lovely little city and standing there on a bridge over the Kamogawa River looking at the Pontocho district and the mountains in the background it reminded me of Florence, Italy, substitute temples for museums.
I was just strolling around when I spotted a Union Jack flag and remembered that there was a branch of the Osaka Pig‘n Whistle here, what a nice surprise, a couple of G’n T’s to sharpen the appetite. It was 6:15pm and the place was deserted, I had 2 drinks and left, it’s just not comfortable having a quiet drink while staff are buzzing around polishing glasses etc.
Finally around 7 I felt hungrey enough to head towards ZuZu and the long awaited spring rolls, they had no salmon sashimi so I had the tuna and the rolls, awesome, just as I had remembered.
I hopped on a Shinkansen and headed back to Osaka to have a final drink with Michael at Murphy’s, the place was quiet and we could chat.
I had just been in Dublin a few weeks earlier and had been in his neighbourhood, Donnybrook. I told him about a new Asian/Benihana style place that had opened where I had dinner with my god-daughter and family. We laughed. Then I inquired about his sister who is married to the Japanese owner of Murphy’s and lives in Australia? Turns out they have moved to Dublin and he does sushi catering to large corporations, what an upside down world!
After a few pints of Guinness and a couple of shots of Power’s it was time to hit the road before the subway closed, we promised to keep in touch and I would give him some advance notice next time.
Wednesday morning, I checked out of The Oriental at 10am and with heavy heart started the long 4 day trek home. I had an 11:40am reservation on the Super Hakari Express to Tokyo so therefore plenty of time to explore all the food options for lunch on the train. I had almost settled on 1 sushi bento box when I spied a little restaurant tucked away under a stairwell and went to investigate, there in the display cabinet was exactly what I was looking for, a sushi box with 80% eel, oh happy days! Now I just needed a small bottle of sake to wash it down, I had already past a store that had a good variety so back I went.
With travel supplies in hand I was rather parched so it was time for a beer to celebrate my great week in Kansai, Sayonara Osaka, till we meet again.
Having ridden all the various Shinkansen’s in one week I can say the Max Tori tri level is the most comfortable seat, it is the only one which has a leg rest unfold behind your calf’s when you recline.
Back in Tokyo at 2:40pm, I get the Yamanote line up to Ueno and a short walk to The Oak, because I had made this reservation at short notice they only had a tatami Japanese style room, I had been meaning to use one but never got to it, now I had no choice. It was fine.
Well it was the last day of my Japan rail pass and I had thought of going to see Bobby Valentine’s Chiba Marines baseball team play but after traveling all day I did not fancy spending an hour during rush hour traveling out to Chiba to see a bad team with no guarantee of getting in, so I decided to go to Yokohama instead. I could get there before rush hour, spend a few hours then stop someplace else on the way back. Tally ho.
Back to Tokyo station and I got an express to Yokohama which only took 20 minutes, unfortunately in those 20 mins. it started to drizzle, by the time I transferred to a local train to Ishikawacho, which is at the entrance to Chinatown, it was now a steady rain, time for a rethink.
Back to Yokohama and the express back into Tokyo, I had reserved my last 2 nights for Popeye’s so I might as well head for Shinjuku, after all I had not been to The Hazelburn yet, that would not do.
I got the Chuo line from Tokyo to Shinjuku, surprisingly the Chuo does not fill up in Tokyo during rush hour but rather in Shinjuku so it was not to bad. I naturally headed for The Hub, it seems to be one of the few happy hour bars that do business and I had become friendly with the staff!!
After a few G’nT’s I was staring to feel a bit hungry so it was around the corner to my favourite spinning sushi bar, it had been a week and I missed it, last go round!
Plenty of eel and some tuna put things right but I left some room for Haggis Brochette and a Speckled Hen at The Hazelburn . The last time Steve and I were here the staff had remembered us from the Formula 1 the previous year, but now all the staff had changed, actually the place was very quiet for 9pm, normally there would have been a few salarymen entertaining. I had my haggis, washed it down with a Speckled Hen and naturally had to finish with a single malt.
Back on the street it was 10pm and so time for a last Shinjuku beer at Mother’s, it would complete the night.
Thursday dawned nice and bright of course, my rail pass has expired, I’m on the return leg, my knee is giving me gyp but the sun is shining, oh well at least the Japanese tatami bed had been very comfortable, I slept 9 hours straight and felt fantastic.
I wandered down to Ueno park and had some breakfast watching the world go by, I started to stroll around the park but my knee started to ache so I headed back to the hotel and picked up a bag of ice at 7 Eleven on the way.
After a few hours surfing the net and icing my knee I decided to head back to Yokohama, I did not get more than ½ a mile from the station when it started aching again and I was forced to concede defeat for the day, damn.
By 7pm it feeling alright again, so time to head for Popeye’s.
The owner Tatsuo Aoki was delighted to see me back and the bartender was amazed at how much of Japan I had covered in a week, I started where I had left off the previous week with the Yona Yona, ah bliss.
Shortly after an American came in and took the stool next to me, we got talking and he was from Nevada over here working at Disneyland as a rigger for Cirque De Soleil. I was impressed, what a great job and to be paid to live in Japan, unfortunately he was not as impressed. He was not the adventurous type and had not adapted to Tokyo lifestyle, until he had found Popeye’s he had just bought a 6 pack each night after work and went home, he could not wait for his 9 month contract to end. Well after a bit of advice from me he was starting to perk up, I told him about, Footnik in Ebisu, The Aldgate in Shibuya, The Hub, Angel, Hazelburn and Mother’s in Shinjuku, day trips to Hakone and Isu, onsens and the Sunday fashion parade in Harajuku. He had been very frightened of the language barrier but I assured him it was not as big a problem as he feared, I hope he is having a great summer.
Friday dawned and it was my last full day in Tokyo and it was going to be a scorcher. I walked down to Ueno Park and had some breakfast, no sightseeing plans today, just take it easy and wander around. Ueno is a really big park so I set out to explore it, there is a small but very cool zoo, I did not go in as the lines were huge with of course hundreds of school children. The natural history museum at the north end has a full size blue whale outside, very cool.
It was now getting on for lunch time and I fancied a department store restaurant, they are without doubt the best value, so I jumped on the Ginza line subway and went to Shinjuku, which is the last stop and is conveniently located in the East-West mall where the fourth floor is a foodies heaven.
I chose a traditional looking Japanese restaurant and it was superb, a mix of sushi and tempura.
After lunch I decided to visit the Akinabari district, which is where they sell all the electronics. I was interested to see if I could find a compact video/mp3 player but after traipsing through about 6 different multi floored shops I could find nothing, tons of mini computers and dvd players. Some of the mini laptops were ridiculously cheap ($400) but they had no operating system and you would have to deal with a Japanese keyboard.
It was now about 5pm and a beautiful afternoon I decided to walk back to The Oak which was about 3 subway stops.
Later I headed to Popeye’s for my last pints of Yona Yona, being Friday night the place was packed, but everybody squished up and made room for my at the bar, Aoki-san directing everything, he had purposely sat me next to Fernando, who spoke English and Japanese with a slight American accent, turned out he was originally from Detroit but now lived in Germany and came to Japan about 5/6 times a year. He is an automotive engineer and would love to live in Japan, he has had several offers but the wife and kids are settled in Germany, that’s that.
Naturally we struck up a great conversation about beers, he was very knowledgeable and had been frequenting Popeye’s for years, he knew all the locals. I was having a great time but like all things it was coming to an end, it was past 11pm and I had to think about catching 2 trains. Fernando on the other hand was booked into the hotel right around the corner, which is where I will be staying next time.
Saturday dawned another scorcher, I had to be checked out by 10am which left a rather long time to kill as my flight was not until 7:30pm. I left my bag at reception and decided to have one last look at Harajuku, while not quiet up to the Sunday show it was still the most interesting place on Saturday and from there I would be able to walk down to Shibuya and have that great lunch again.
Of course the best laid plans always go awry, by the time I got to Shibuya starving and thirsty, the mall was packed and there was a forty – fifty minute wait for a table, I did not have the time or patience so I had to settle for a western looking café across the way. It could have been worse, they had a beer lovers special on which consisted of a broiled sliced steak cooked with ginger & garlic, potatoes and a half liter of Sapporo beer, all for Y1650 ($15), a bargain and it was good.
Well that was it, time to head back to The Oak, grab my bag and head for Narita, the adventure was over.
Instead of the Narita Express which I would have to go to Tokyo station to catch and pay Y3140 ($30) I took the regular Keisei Limited Express from Ueno for Y1000 ($9.50), I was planning on taking the Keisei Skyliner but the next one was not for 30 mins and I did not feel like waiting to pay an extra Y950.
I had naturally checked out all the lounges at Narita in www.flyertalk.com and discovered that JAL had renovated both the main terminal and annex lounges at terminal 2 but had not installed showers so as I was hot and sticky from running around I went to the American Airlines Admirals club and got a shower cubicle right away. What bliss to take a long relaxing shower before a trans pacific flight only to be made better by not having to do it on AA but JAL.
After my shower I check-out there food offerings and they were abysmal, I grabbed a quick gin n tonic and headed for the JAL Sakura lounge.
All I can say is WOW, it was amazing, huge comfortable club chairs everywhere and 3 bars all with a panoramic view of the airport. I grabbed a beer from the automated machine and wandered around but what really got my attention was the terrific aroma of beef curry wafting through the air.
At the bottom of a grand semi circular stairway was a sign pointing up to the “food bar”, lead on McDuff and up I went.
Downstairs had wowed me but this was just another world, to my right was a 30 foot martini bar over looking the tarmac, to the right was a full bar and in the middle, 2 food counters, 1 hot and 1 cold. The hot had miso soup, sticky rice and beef curry. The cold had sushi and salads, my god what was the first class lounge like?
The lounge was very busy as there were a lot of late afternoon flights, I had plenty of time so I sat up at the martini bar and had another G ‘n T, looking out at the tarmac I counted 17 Boeing 747’s, a magnificent sight. The destination board beside me showed they were headed all over the world but the one at gate 64 in front of me was only going to Nagoya, a 2 hour train ride from central Tokyo!!
After a lot of the crowd left I grabbed some curry, it was perfect to bridge the gap between lunch and dinner on board, the food and wine offerings in JAL biz class are far ahead of any American carrier.
The flight was very uneventful and I managed to sleep for 6 hours.
What a shock it is to land back at JFK, 90 + degrees, hazy, hot & humid.
This was my third trip to the land of the rising sun and people ask why I keep going back? Simple, they still hold true all the values that I grew up with as a kid that have disappeared from western decivilization.
There is virtually no crime, people are courteous to each other, it’s immaculately clean and I think what best represents their society, kids can still go to school in their uniforms on the subway and buses, unescorted, as young as 6/7 years old, just like I did in London light years ago.
Oh yeah, and by the way the women are beautiful and the food is exquisite.
I had booked this trip in Sept. 2007 and I was originally going to travel on to Beijing after Tokyo and return via Shanghai but when the Chinese Government decided to change all the visa rules and up the fees before the Olympics, I decided I would rather spend the whole 2 weeks in Japan, besides how could I go to Japan and not visit Osaka.
My original business class routing was out to Tokyo on a nonstop JAL flight but return was only on JAL to San Francisco and then American to JFK. I had tried in vain for months to get the JAL nonstop return but it was always sold out. Imagine my surprise when I called to cancel the Chinese legs and was told the nonstop return was available and all for the same $100 change fee, I was ecstatic, there is a god.
Friday May 23, and I arose at 3am, all week I had been getting up earlier to adjust for the jet-lag. My flight was not until 1:30pm so I went for a 5 mile walk to limber up my legs for the long flight. Before heading for JFK I had the traditional New York breakfast, everything bagel, lox & cream cheese. After checking in I enter the JAL Sakura lounge, this is why I love to use my domestic frequent flyer miles on foreign carriers, the experience starts at JFK. Unfortunately since the last time I was here they have taken out the automated beer machines, they were so cool, hopefully they still have them at Narita for the return leg.
The flight was uneventful, I ate some excellent Japanese food all the way and drank good French wine with a few sakes thrown in for good measure. The beef curry snack is a great offering an hour before landing, gets you through customs/immigration and into Tokyo.The guy next to me slept most of the way, just waking for meals. The Japanese seem to have remarkable knack for doing this, I’ve watched them on the trains, one moment sound asleep, the train pulls into their stop, eyes open, get up and get off.
Saturday, we arrive at Narita early, 4pm, but a 40 min. immigration line negated the early arrival. After getting through I came out to find the Citibank machine was not working, I used 7 Bank and they only charged Y210 ($2) fee for Y50,000 ($470) withdrawal.
I went downstairs to the JR rail office to exchange my Japan railpass voucher and get a Suica card which gets you a discount Narita Express ticket to all Tokyo stations for Y1500, normally the one way fare to Shinjuku is Y3150. The Suica card cost Y3500 which includes the Narita Exp. and Y1500 credit on the card, the card can be used for travel on all Tokyo JR train, subways and buses, it can also be used in most convenience stores. There were no seats on the next train so I would have to wait until 6pm, it was now only 10 past 5 so time for a beer. Surprisingly compared with the rest of the country, where there are vending machines all over the place selling beer it was hard to find a beer outside security at the airport. I finally found a little food stand that served draft Sapporo for Y500, I felt a little guilty giving the guy a Y10,000 note, but he did not bat an eyelid, could you imagine the reaction at La Guardia or JFK, $100 bill for a $5 beer. At this rate I would not make Shinjuku until 7 30pm, will miss happy hour at The Hub but early for Mothers.
On the train I met an interesting man who worked for Epsom printers and was returning from Sydney, he was amazed that someone born in England, schooled in Ireland and living in Greenwich Village, New York, would find Japanese culture and society enjoyable. When we arrived at Shinjuku, I was done but he still had a 3 hour local train ride to Matsumoto, a long distance salary man!
God it felt good to walk out of Shinjuku station into the madness of the Tokyo Saturday night, it was electric, all the neon and flashing video screens, thousands of people, brilliant. Lugging a bag I took the slightly longer route around by the Prince Hotel to my hotel, The Vintage, rather than fight my way through Ichi-Ban-Dori (known locally as Piss Alley). Upon checking in, I dropped my bag and made a beeline to the Irish pub just down the street (The Angel) for a pint and small portion of fish n chips, they don’t just eat raw fish, they are bloody good at cooking it too. I wanted to know if they would have the Monaco GP on Sunday but they had no clue what I was on about, they were showing a replay of Manchester United v Wigan, it’s a Utd. pub. I had a second beer then took a stroll around the neighbourhood, it almost felt like coming home, fantastic. It was now around 10pm, I was starting to feel a bit knackered so I headed for Mothers, a few nightcap beers and some heavy metal, I even had a laugh with some of the African pimps outside.
Sunday I woke-up early and it was drizzling, had been raining all week, stories on news showed floods in some places. Everything was still closed so I decided to take a train ride on the Yamanote line going nowhere in particular, but then figured, why not look up The Oak Inn where I’m staying later in the week. I had not brought the directions with me but I found it no problem, but then the skies grew darker and I headed back to Ueno Station, just as I got onto the platform it started to really come down, I got soaked from the station back to the hotel.
After a shower and change the rain had let-up so it was off to the Shinjuku Gardens which I had missed on my 2 previous visits, beautiful but not as nice as the ones in Kyoto.
It was now past 1 pm and time to head for the fashion parade in Harajuku followed by The Menji shrine with a doner kebab for lunch thrown in the middle. I had seen some of these girls around Harajuku on previous visits in their bizarre fashions but Sunday is the Full Monty, they go all out to be outrageous and shock the average Joe in the street, great stuff. I just walked around with my camera on film mode.
At the Menji Temple I made my usual request for Spurs to do well this season and beat Chelsea, there was a wedding going on which caught my attention, I started to film the bridesmaids when I realized this was just like Bruno & Leslie’s wedding but in reverse. When they had exited Grace Church on Broadway back in 1992 there was an open top double decker bus stuck in traffic and all the Japanese tourists started filming the wedding, funny how things come around.
The doner kebab shop is an authentic Turkish one run by Turks and I later found out they have quiet a few of them dotted around the city.
Returning to Shinjuku I had a few G’nT’s at the Hub Pub then went for dinner at the spinning sushi restaurant opposite the Prince Hotel, I love the eel. I could not find anyplace showing the F1 but someone on Speed.Com forums had said it was on regular TV, delayed @ 10:30pm, so I went back to the hotel with a couple of tins. I never found it and fell asleep.
Monday I got a combo rail ticket and onsen pass to Hakon on the Odakyu railway romance car with free shuttle pick up from station, this was something I’ve wanted to do for years. It was fantastic, the water was about 120 degrees, not to hot, some go as high as 130 plus. It had both in and out door pools, total bliss.
After a couple of hours I looked like a cooked lobster, I wonder if they feel his good when getting cooked?
I then took the Hakon Tozen switchback railway up through the mountains to Gora where I thought I would have lunch, but there was nothing there. There was one decent looking/smelling restaurant but they had a big sign saying “members only”? This was a one horse town, I could not even find a sandwich, which are normally available everywhere so I caught the next train back down and return on the romance car to Shinjuku.
I just made it for happy hour @ The Hub {gin n tonic Y260} followed by lots of eel @ the spinning sushi bar, caught a buzz and was fed all for less than Y2000 ($18), pretty good for anywhere, but great for Tokyo.
It was only 8pm but I was knackered, the onsen had really taken it out of me so grabbed a couple of tins and headed for the hotel, besides tomorrow was an early start for the fish market, I had planned on Wednesday but it was closed.
Tuesday I got up at 6am and headed for the Tsukiji fish market, best sushi I have ever had @ 7am for breakfast, melt in the mouth good. The place next door had a line of tourists because it did a special for Y3500, my place was all Japanese and ala carte, cost me Y4600 {4 eel, 2 salmon, 2 tuna, 1 abalone & 1 sea urchin} I was stuffed.
The market is a hive of activity and you will get mown down if you are not careful, could not actually get into where they have the auctions but this was someplace I have always wanted to visit, might have to do this followed by the onsen again next week when I return from Osaka.
The market sells more than just fish, virtually everything you can think of and then some, but T shirts I had seen in Harajuku were more expensive here, good excuse to go back, like I need one!
It was moving day so I had to get back to Shinjuku to check out. I left my bags with the hotel and went I search of the Japanese sword museum which is in Yoyogi, via the west side of Shinjuku which I had never visited.
The area is all modern high rise buildings which are either government offices or high end chain hotels like Hilton Marriott etc., not normally someplace that would interest me, but there is supposedly a nice central park and temple which I wanted to explore.
I was very surprised when I got to the entrance to the park and found a lot of homeless men, but what was even more surprising, was that they have erected a small shanty town right in the middle of the park, very unjapanese.The park was very shabby and the temple very ordinary.
I walked down through the back street to Yoyogi, but I could not find the sword museum, so I hopped on a bus to Shibuya. My first time on a bus in Tokyo and it is much better than taking the trains for seeing day to day goings on.
It was a very hot day so when I got off the bus I went into the Tokyu department store to cool off and check out the foodhall, it was incredible, but I was still full from the sushi and decided to walk it off by walking the one stop back to Harajuku, it was akin to walking up Madison Avenue, a lot of high end retail outlets.
Harajuku is a very different place on weekdays, a lot quieter, after my 30 minute walk from Shibuya in eighty plus degrees I was gasping for a beer and I had not seen any bars here, so I nipped into the kebab shop. The place was empty and I got chatting to the counter guy, he was from Istanbul, originally a Beshiktas fan but now a Juventus fan as he had lived in Turin for 20 years before moving to Japan where he has now been for 10 years. He had married a Japanese woman and she bankrolled a restaurant in Nagano but when they got divorced she pulled the plug and he is happy now working the counter with no responsibilities.
When I left the kebab shop I strolled up fashion alley, it is truly one of the most fascinating streets in the world, like Carnaby Street, London, back in the sixties.
Out of the 7-11 in front of me came a guy in full samurai costume carrying his bagged lunch, only a few people gave him a second look so I assumed he worked in one of the stores, I sped up my pace to catch him and get a photo when I noticed he had a full policeman’s utility belt, gun, handcuffs, ammo clips etc. A couple teenage boys stopped him for a photo so I got one also.
I rode the Yamanote line 2 stops back up to Shinjuka to pick up my bag, as I walked back to the Vintage I noticed a new bar “St. James” and unusual for Japan it was open at 2:30pm, perfect, it was boiling hot and time for a cold one.
I got around to the Oak Hotel by 4pm and checked in, a slightly larger room than the Vintage but no electronic Japanese toilet, a big disappointment and no fridge, bummer. I took a wonder around my new neighbourhood, Asakusa, there were a lot of home shrine stores for ashes which I thought strange, but then I came upon a crematorium and it made sense. Later I wanted to catch the end of happy hour at The Ueno Hub and stay on for the Japan vs Paraguay game at 7:15pm.
I was amazed when I walked into The Hub, the place was empty but virtually all the tables had reserved signs on them, there was one deuce hightop left with decent sightlines to the big screen, so I grabbed it and order the proverbial G’nT.
Ten past seven and the placed filled up and everyone was wearing Japan shirts. I had only looked at the J League fixtures before departing, had I seen this on the schedule I could have gone as it was only up the road in Saitama, which is virtually a suburb of Tokyo. When the broadcast came on I could see the stadium which seats around 70,000 was less than half full, but once the game started I was glad I had not gone, it was crap, Japan used to have a decent team when they had a Brazilian coach, now they were running around like headless chickens, the Paraguayans were not much better, 0-0.
Wednesday and I finally get a morning to lye in, nothing that can’t wait, I’m going to visit the Senso-Ji temple on the other side of Asakusa. Inaricho Stn. on the Ginza subway line is right around the corner from The Oak so I hopped it the 2 stops to the end of the line Asakusa Stn. which is right beside the Sumida River. I got an egg n tomato sarny with some green tea and sat down by the river for breakfast.
Upon rounding the corner to the temple I was amazed at what confronted me, to my right was the temple with the huge lantern hanging in the arch at the entrance and too my left was a market of hundreds of food and souvenir stands packed with thousands of people, most of whom were school kids. It was an incredible sight, I had been expecting a place like the Menji shrine where everyone was very reverent and polite, this was a zoo. About 70% of the stalls were selling confectionary and deserts, it’s amazing the Japanese penchant for sweet things, yet everyone is so thin!!
After a quick shufty around the temple I decided to walk back to The Oak via the back streets, I pasted some great little restaurants and was very tempted but it was not long since breakfast and I was thinking about having lunch in a Ginza dept. store restaurant.
It was another very hot day and after a forty minute walk I was very glad to see The Oak, have a shower and change, twenty minute turnaround and I was back down in the air conditioned subway. What a difference from NY, in Tokyo you find reasons to go on the subway on a hot day.
The Ginza was worse than I had expected, Gucci, Chanel, Cartier, Dior etc., it was actually worse than Fifth Ave. in the 50’s but still full of the same tourists, I headed towards the Imperial Palace but still needed to find lunch. I came upon the Shinkansen lines and realized this was where Steve, Dave and myself had found ourselves lost 3years ago beside Yurakucho Stn. which had a thriving lunch business going on underneath it’s arches. After surveying all the fare on offer I finally settled on curry and had a great pork curry with a beer for Y1800 ($17).
Well sated I headed for The Palace, although I had been here 3 years ago and found it very dull we had completely missed the gardens, but first I sat down to write some postcards and just watch the swans on the moat.
The gardens were absolutely stunning and the smell totally overwhelming, it was a kaleidoscope of colours, truly worthy of being The Imperial Palace gardens.
Happy hour was now beckoning and I had read about a beer aficionado’s heaven in The New York Times travel section back in October 2007, called Popeye’s, which was located just the other side of the Sumida River in Ryougoku. Actually it was not far from The Oak but would require either 2 subways or 2 JR’s,
I got there just after they opened and could tell right away this was my kind of place, I took a seat at the bar and was blown away by the variety of beer in front of me, their web address is www.fortybeersontap.com but now they have 70, WOW!
I started with a half pint of Baird Special Dark Wheat, recommended by the bartender, a seasonal special, only available this week, it was excellent, rich, full & citrus. I had been a bit apprehensive about Japanese microbrews but I could not wait to taste more Baird’s, next I had their Rising Sun pale ale, good and very hoppy, time to step it up, next I tried the gravity cask Preston pale ale which reminded me of Fullers bitter and then the hand pump Yona Yona pale ale, my favourite of the night, like London Pride. Oh yes, I was in heaven.
Happy hour consisted of half portions off a limited menu with certain beers, the mixed sausages were a bit strange but the fried chicken was good, I looked at the regular menu and had to try mini mutton steaks wrapped in bacon, unique and tasty.
Thursday morning and it a misty rain was falling over Tokyo, it was the first day of my Japan rail pass and I wanted to head up north into the mountains around Nikko and hopefully find an onsen and some better weather.
I caught a Max Toki tri-level Shinkansen from Ueno to Takasaki and then transferred to a local train for a 1 1/2 hour trip up into the mountains, but the rain was getting heavier and heavier, by the time I got to Naganohara-Kusatsu-guchi Station I was in the middle of a monsoon. There were onsens near the station according to the map but when I went outside they were the other side of a huge gorge, I would get drowned. Then I spotted a bus mark Kusatsu-onsen so I hoped on and hoped for the best.
After about 40 minutes we wound up in a small town above the clouds, some of these onsen towns have public baths right in the middle of town as well as resort hotels around the outskirts. It was of course lashing down just as bad, but I plunged out with my trusty little telescopic umbrella in search of the elusive onsen. After ½ an hour I wound up back at the bus depot, defeated, my bus was just getting ready to return to the train station so I grabbed a kit-kat and green tea for the journey, wow, it was apple flavoured kit-kat, fantastic. The driver just looked at me and shook his head, he must have thought I was a total lunatic, mind you he was not far off but, hey, I was on an adventure.
There was about a 40 minute wait for the next train but there was absolutely nothing around this station except a little dumpling stand and a coffee stand run by an Elvis impersonator, the little shop in the station was closed. I was starving so dumplings it was, she had 3 varieties so I got one of each hoping that one of them would have meat, but I was wrong, they were all variations of seaweed/kelp. I ate the dough and threw the most of the contents away.
Looking down the gorge in this pristine mountain setting and there was a huge construction site, they were building these huge concrete pylons, probably a highway to get the tourists up here quicker, I was glad that I had beaten the hoards here.
Ten minutes before the trains arrival the little shop opened, boy was I glad when I saw she had beer, a couple of tall Sapporo’s would help me down the mountain.
Back in Takasaki I had a twenty minute wait for a Asama shinkansen to Tokyo so I took a wander out of the station, you never know you might see something worth missing the train for but I needn’t have bothered, there was nothing but smoke stacks in every direction, a very industrial town.
The Asama got me into Tokyo just before the start of rush hour, I had no plans because I did not expect to be back this early, so I had to do some quick thinking and came up with going to the Footnik bar in Ebisu, which is about a 20 minute ride on the Yamanote Line.
I got there just as they were opening and was delighted to find they had Yona Yona on draft, it was very quiet with just a few bizmen playing on their laptops and a replay of the Man. Utd. vs Barcelona champions league semi final on the telly, which I watched to while away an hour and avoid the worst of rush hour, could be worse, no Yona Yona!!
There is another decent bar in Ebisu that Steve and had visited on previous occasions but I was not sure exactly where it was and did not fancy traipsing around in the rain, so I jumped on a train one stop to Shibuya to visit The Aldgate, but first a little curry at a cheap Indian place we had found on the last trip.
When I finally got to The Aldgate I was delighted to find they also had Yona Yona and a few of the Baird brews on tap. I got chatting to the barman who was from Killiney, Dublin, he was very surprised that I knew where it was. I explained that I had lived and gone to school in Dublin and had just been there 2 weeks previous and that tomorrow I was headed to Osaka to meet a fellow Dublin southsider who ran a pub there.
Then 2 American lads wandered in, 1 from Iowa and 1 from Missouri and we got talking, they were on an Asian adventure and staying in Japan for a while to pick up some cash, teaching English! It seems everyone does it, the barman had also said he taught a couple of days a week.
It was now about 10pm and time to make tracks back to Ueno as I had an early start in the morning to Kyoto.
Friday, May 30, 2008, I had been worried about getting to Tokyo station during the rush hour from Ueno when it struck me, take the Shinkansen 1 stop from Ueno to Tokyo, which I did, to catch the 9:03 Hikari Superexpress Shinkansen to Kyoto.
With the Japan rail pass you are not allowed to ride the Nozomi expresses which are slightly faster than the Hikari’s so I was surprised and delighted when a Nozomi pulled into my platform and changed the signs to Hikari for the southbound journey, these were the new 700 series cars I had read about and the seats were a lot more comfy.
The weather was overcast and dull as we left Tokyo but brightened as we headed south and by the time we got to Kyoto it was nice day.
Two stops on the Karasuma Line subway, 5 minute walk and my hotel was right where I thought it would be. I dropped my bag off and headed for the Arashiyama area west of the city which has a high density of temples/shrines and is one of the most visited places in Japan. Amazingly 18 months ago when Steve and I got lost using a small private tramway, it was now the same tram that was only a few blocks from my hotel and would take me to Arashiyama,
After a nice serene 20 min. tram ride I disembarked into a street full of crazed teenagers, some in school uniform others like they were going to the prom, total bedlam. If this what it’s like on Friday, what’s it like on the weekend? The whole street was souvenir and sweet shops, good thing I found a small stand doing teriyaki fried pork on a stick with deep fried croquets Y200, I had 1 of each and meandered down the street and over the bridge away from the maddening crowds.
There was not much over the river except an intriguing sign pointing along the river saying “good view”, I bit, it had to be better than the rollicking kids. I kept looking at the buildings across the river waiting for the view to improve but it did not look hopeful when I started to hear the sound of falling water, which is like a magnet for me. Another 15 feet and there was his little triple waterfall, falling about 70 feet off the mountain, beautiful, total silence except for the water, I made a little movie which I will watch over and over.
Last month a journalist wrote a story in The New York Times about Kyoto, entitled “Serenity on $200 a day” he obviously missed this spot.
I walked back through the village and grabbed another stick of pork and a croquet on my way to the Tenryu-ji Temple which is a world heritage site and rightly so, it’s an amazing place. The best gardens I have seen yet.
Back at the tram station I walked to the end of the platform to take a photo of the train and there was a little hot spring foot bath for the weary traveler so I whipped off my sneakers and stepped in, it was glorious, what civility.
The Court Hotel was the largest room I have had in Japan, 2 full size beds, nicely furnished, most importantly an electronic toilet and because it was a corner room, huge glass windows on 2 sides. All this for only Y5750 ($54) pity I could only get it for 1 night, every budget hotel in Kyoto was sold out for Saturday and Sunday nights.
In the article he also mention a few places he had ate and drank in, one of which had a picture, a bar called Majorica, with the owner in the shot, so I brought a copy of it with me figuring, if nothing else it would get me in.
I got there around 8pm and he was just opening, he was uneasy about letting me in until I trust the article into his hands, his face lit up like a Christmas tree, he could not believe it, he was beside himself and I felt this tremendous feeling of well being that I had brought someone this much joy, as Vinnie would say, “it was emotional”. Although the joint was empty I bought a gin n tonic and he gave me a bottle of sake as a thank you, we could not stop bowing to each other until I backed him up to the door and we shook hands, a moment I will always remember.
Down the street I had spotted a funky looking place that had the specials in English outside, so I popped in, as I did, I noticed the name, ZuZu, it had also been mentioned in the Kyoto article. The salmon sashimi was delicious but the fish and cheese spring rolls with sea urchin sauce were out of this world, this is why we travel.
Downtown Kyoto is amazing, all the sidewalks are covered, at first I thought it was just one department store but then realized they were all covered, how convenient.
The street where Majorica is located is known as the Pontocho area, restaurants and bars as opposed to the redlight area across the river known as Gion, famed since ancient times for its geishas, now just hostess bars and hookers.
There were several little street bands playing in various places around town and they all seemed to be playing traditional Irish music, with a violin (fiddle) accordion, flute and Bodhrán (drum), they were quiet good.
Satuday morning and checkout was an early 10am, I checked out at 9 and asked them to keep my bag for awhile. Nijo Castle is nearby so I walked the 1km only to find the parking lot was already packed with tour buses and 60% were school kids. I walked up past the main gate hoping to get a picture of the main tower but there was nothing visible, as I turned to leave some of the buses were already reboarding their passengers! It was 20 to 10 and the castle only opened @ 9am, there can’t be much to see!
It had started out overcast but it was now starting to rain so off down the subway I went, next stop Keage station which is closest to the start of the “Path of Philosophy, a 1km walk past several shrines/temples but after 1 minor stop at some shogun’s mausoleum I came upon The Nanzen-ji Temple complex which was not listed as a biggie on my map, but it was phenomenal, the gardens were beautiful and because it was pouring rain it enhanced the colours and lushness, also the rain kept most people away and I was able to enjoy the serenity.
Back in the early eighties I used to build Japanese gardens in the New York tri-state area for a Japanese guy called Hal Anuji, it turned out I was a natural at building free form stone walls, waterfalls and ponds. Hal would show me his hand drawn sketch and I could bring it to life, now I was seeing where he had received his inspiration, it was awesome.
It was now around noon, I was starting to feel peckish and the die hard tourists with ponchos were starting to show up so it was time for me to say Sayonara.
It starting to rain harder and I could not book into my Osaka hotel until 3pm so I had a great idea, get a box lunch and eat on the train! I grabbed my bag from the hotel and arrived at Shin Kyoto only to find approx 500 school kids sitting on the floor of the terminal, totally blocking the whole place so I just went up to the platform and caught the first train to Shin-Osaka. Amazing, mid day and I had the first class car to myself. Once there I looked at the schedules and picked Himeji as it was just 3 stops and 40 minutes down the line, perfect time to eat a box lunch and have a beer on the way back.
Now another example of my joss, I had been looking for Himeji Castle in Kyoto, not realizing that Himeji was a totally separate city so imagine my surprise as we pulled in and there was the castle right smack in the middle of town. I had my luggage with me so it was not convenient to go visit now but it was only 40 mins from Osaka, I’ll comer back on Monday.
Back to Osaka and my hotel, The Oriental, was just across the street from Awaza subway station, a quieter part of town than where Steve and I had stayed the last time, The Comfort Inn, just off Shinsaiobashi, which is the heart beat of Osaka. That had not been available but this was just 2 subway stops away.
It was back to the small rooms that I have become used to, but this one was only Y5,000 ($47) a night and it had an onsen in the basement, unfortunately there had been a fire down there last week and it was closed.
After settling in and a bit of a rest I headed for Shinsaiobashi, and the bright lights, Osaka has a great variety of street food and I was determined to eat my way around downtown, but first a couple of happy hour beers at the Pig n Whistle pub.
After wandering around Shinsaiobashi for a few hours eating all manner of delicious but unpronounceable foods and absorbing the electricity of the area I finally wound up at Murphy’s Irish Pub which was packed.
Michael was surprised to see me and I was amazed he instantly recognized me and called out my name, “Frank, what are you doing here?, there is no race (F1)” I squeezed into the bar between a lad from Essex and a couple from Sydney who were being regaled by a fellow from Seattle.
The Aussies were on a 1 week whirlwind tour, off to Tokyo in the morning so I gave them a few tips for Shinjuku, Shibuya and of course Popeye’s.
The Essex boy was over here teaching English of course, an Ipswich supporter.
The Seattle man was the most interesting, he had been in Osaka for 30 years and on his 3rd Japanese wife, he was really pissed off when I told him I first went to Seattle for the Man. Utd. vs Celtic game in 2003, he had only heard about it after it was all sold out.
There was also a new Irish bartender behind the stick, Sean, from Kells, County Meath, he had met Michael in Dublin and after hearing all the stories decided to come over a year ago and give it a go. Yes, you guessed it, he is teaching English during the week and 1 night in the bar.
Might have to give this English teaching gig a go one of these days!
Sunday, having witnessed yesterday morning at Nijo castle I knew Sunday at any nationally renowned site would be over run so I picked Wayayama Castle, because it was miles from nowhere, at least according to my reckoning, which proved to be right. Unfortunately this was the castle of a favored shogun general so not as ornate, rather dull in fact. But it was a good visit to a small Japanese town off the beaten path.
I got back to Namba station in Osaka and there was a kids hip hop dance show going on in the station forecourt, I started to make a movie but was quickly and quietly told no. I was a bit miffed until I realized it was being filmed from several angles. They must have thought I was a pirate! Arrr.
I wandered through Namba and came out on Shinsaiobashi, well time for a G n’T at the Pig n Whistle, 5:45pm and I’m the only one there, what’s wrong with this picture?
Hanshin Tigers Osaka vs Nippon Ham Fighters baseball game was on the telly tied at 3-3 in the seventh, perfect, my 2 favored teams. The owner came over to inquire if I wanted to watch something else and we got talking, he has had the joint since 1978 when it was really different to have an English pub but nowadays it does not matter what type of pub you have, Osaka has a very young population and they do not drink, “spend to much time twiddling their thumbs on mobiles” he said.
It’s Sunday night, Michael is not working at Murphy’s so it’s a good night for a movie at home, I grabbed a sushi box in Namba, a bottle of sake at 7-11 on the corner and settled in to watch sexy beast with Ray Winston.
Monday, I was up bright’ n early and headed for Himeji Castle, it dull and overcast in Osaka but when I got to Himeji it was a lot brighter. That’s one of the great things about the high speed trains and the mountainous terrain, ½ an hour and you have completely different weather. I got there just after 9am before the crowds. Himeji is the largest wood and plaster castle in Japan, very impressive and a hell of a climb to the top via a series of narrow steep stairways. Other than it’s size and majesty Himeji is not very discernable from every other castle, no fancy suits of armour, weapons or headgear like Osaka. I almost skipped the gardens but really glad I didn’t, they were some of the most impressive that I saw on the whole trip.
Returning to the train station I passed a small supermarket in an arcade off the main boulevard and stopped in. They had a great variety of sushi bento boxes at half the price of the station so I picked one up for the ride to Kyoto.
By the time I got to Kyoto it was raining again but I have wanted to visit this giant Pagoda that you can see from the train for a couple of years. With my trusty mini umbrella I trudged off in the rain and reached it in about 10-12 minutes, the pagoda itself was very impressive but the surrounding temples were rather uninteresting. Just down the street was a private railway (Kinki Nippon Electric railway) that was just one stop back into the main Kyoto JR station.
I could not get the fish n cheese spring rolls in sea urchin sauce out of my mind since last Friday and had contemplated staying in Kyoto for dinner but it was now only 2:30pm and it was pouring, what to do?
I decided to catch a train back to Osaka where it was also raining and do laundry, very exciting!
I wandered into Shinsaiobashi and had a drink at the pig but the whole area was dead, a combination of Monday and the rain. I found a nice little restaurant in the covered shopping arcade and had breaded pork cutlet w/curry for dinner, very good.
Tuesday, more heavy rain which rulled out going to Nara for the day so lets try the Shinkansen maneuver again and head south to Hiroshima which is a 1 ½ hour trip. Again by the time we passed Himeji the rain was letting up and by Hiroshima it was a nice day.
I have been to Hiroshima 3 years ago with Steve and Dave when we visited the Peace Memorial, where the bomb had exploded, it had been very emotional and I did not want to relive it.
I checked the local map and saw there was a castle but the whole city is less than 50 years old so it is only a replica, I decided instead to visit the Shukkeien gardens which were beautiful and virtually tourist free, in fact I was the only westerner.
This was last day in the south western part of Japan and I wanted to have lunch at the Hanshin Dept. store in Osaka, so I headed back and got a seat on the JR West Rail Star train, when I asked for a green seat I was told there were none, I misunderstood this for no availability only to find out that it is an all biz class train at coach prices. Instead of 3&2 abreast, it was 2&2 like green class but the seats were not as comfortable and had less pitch, it was packed, especially with a lot of backpackers, who all got off at Himeji.
Got back to Osaka just after 1pm and the rain had finally relented, I had a quick walk through the Hanshin basement food court, ahh the glorious sights and smells, I wish I had an apartment to take this all home too.
Off up to the roof to choose a restaurant, they have about 10 and Steve and I had eaten in one the last trip, so I decided to pick one of the others. I got a great lunch of miso soup, sushi and tempura for Y1750 ($16). This was my last day and those spring rolls were still on my mind so off to Kyoto we go. The Hanshin store basement connects straight into the Osaka JR station and I caught an express in 5 mins so I was there in half an hour. Just enough time to visit the Tofukuji Temple just about the last of the major temples, it was nice but nothing spectacular. I toured the whole complex until they closed at 5pm when I caught the Keihan Electric railway back into town.
Kyoto is a lovely little city and standing there on a bridge over the Kamogawa River looking at the Pontocho district and the mountains in the background it reminded me of Florence, Italy, substitute temples for museums.
I was just strolling around when I spotted a Union Jack flag and remembered that there was a branch of the Osaka Pig‘n Whistle here, what a nice surprise, a couple of G’n T’s to sharpen the appetite. It was 6:15pm and the place was deserted, I had 2 drinks and left, it’s just not comfortable having a quiet drink while staff are buzzing around polishing glasses etc.
Finally around 7 I felt hungrey enough to head towards ZuZu and the long awaited spring rolls, they had no salmon sashimi so I had the tuna and the rolls, awesome, just as I had remembered.
I hopped on a Shinkansen and headed back to Osaka to have a final drink with Michael at Murphy’s, the place was quiet and we could chat.
I had just been in Dublin a few weeks earlier and had been in his neighbourhood, Donnybrook. I told him about a new Asian/Benihana style place that had opened where I had dinner with my god-daughter and family. We laughed. Then I inquired about his sister who is married to the Japanese owner of Murphy’s and lives in Australia? Turns out they have moved to Dublin and he does sushi catering to large corporations, what an upside down world!
After a few pints of Guinness and a couple of shots of Power’s it was time to hit the road before the subway closed, we promised to keep in touch and I would give him some advance notice next time.
Wednesday morning, I checked out of The Oriental at 10am and with heavy heart started the long 4 day trek home. I had an 11:40am reservation on the Super Hakari Express to Tokyo so therefore plenty of time to explore all the food options for lunch on the train. I had almost settled on 1 sushi bento box when I spied a little restaurant tucked away under a stairwell and went to investigate, there in the display cabinet was exactly what I was looking for, a sushi box with 80% eel, oh happy days! Now I just needed a small bottle of sake to wash it down, I had already past a store that had a good variety so back I went.
With travel supplies in hand I was rather parched so it was time for a beer to celebrate my great week in Kansai, Sayonara Osaka, till we meet again.
Having ridden all the various Shinkansen’s in one week I can say the Max Tori tri level is the most comfortable seat, it is the only one which has a leg rest unfold behind your calf’s when you recline.
Back in Tokyo at 2:40pm, I get the Yamanote line up to Ueno and a short walk to The Oak, because I had made this reservation at short notice they only had a tatami Japanese style room, I had been meaning to use one but never got to it, now I had no choice. It was fine.
Well it was the last day of my Japan rail pass and I had thought of going to see Bobby Valentine’s Chiba Marines baseball team play but after traveling all day I did not fancy spending an hour during rush hour traveling out to Chiba to see a bad team with no guarantee of getting in, so I decided to go to Yokohama instead. I could get there before rush hour, spend a few hours then stop someplace else on the way back. Tally ho.
Back to Tokyo station and I got an express to Yokohama which only took 20 minutes, unfortunately in those 20 mins. it started to drizzle, by the time I transferred to a local train to Ishikawacho, which is at the entrance to Chinatown, it was now a steady rain, time for a rethink.
Back to Yokohama and the express back into Tokyo, I had reserved my last 2 nights for Popeye’s so I might as well head for Shinjuku, after all I had not been to The Hazelburn yet, that would not do.
I got the Chuo line from Tokyo to Shinjuku, surprisingly the Chuo does not fill up in Tokyo during rush hour but rather in Shinjuku so it was not to bad. I naturally headed for The Hub, it seems to be one of the few happy hour bars that do business and I had become friendly with the staff!!
After a few G’nT’s I was staring to feel a bit hungry so it was around the corner to my favourite spinning sushi bar, it had been a week and I missed it, last go round!
Plenty of eel and some tuna put things right but I left some room for Haggis Brochette and a Speckled Hen at The Hazelburn . The last time Steve and I were here the staff had remembered us from the Formula 1 the previous year, but now all the staff had changed, actually the place was very quiet for 9pm, normally there would have been a few salarymen entertaining. I had my haggis, washed it down with a Speckled Hen and naturally had to finish with a single malt.
Back on the street it was 10pm and so time for a last Shinjuku beer at Mother’s, it would complete the night.
Thursday dawned nice and bright of course, my rail pass has expired, I’m on the return leg, my knee is giving me gyp but the sun is shining, oh well at least the Japanese tatami bed had been very comfortable, I slept 9 hours straight and felt fantastic.
I wandered down to Ueno park and had some breakfast watching the world go by, I started to stroll around the park but my knee started to ache so I headed back to the hotel and picked up a bag of ice at 7 Eleven on the way.
After a few hours surfing the net and icing my knee I decided to head back to Yokohama, I did not get more than ½ a mile from the station when it started aching again and I was forced to concede defeat for the day, damn.
By 7pm it feeling alright again, so time to head for Popeye’s.
The owner Tatsuo Aoki was delighted to see me back and the bartender was amazed at how much of Japan I had covered in a week, I started where I had left off the previous week with the Yona Yona, ah bliss.
Shortly after an American came in and took the stool next to me, we got talking and he was from Nevada over here working at Disneyland as a rigger for Cirque De Soleil. I was impressed, what a great job and to be paid to live in Japan, unfortunately he was not as impressed. He was not the adventurous type and had not adapted to Tokyo lifestyle, until he had found Popeye’s he had just bought a 6 pack each night after work and went home, he could not wait for his 9 month contract to end. Well after a bit of advice from me he was starting to perk up, I told him about, Footnik in Ebisu, The Aldgate in Shibuya, The Hub, Angel, Hazelburn and Mother’s in Shinjuku, day trips to Hakone and Isu, onsens and the Sunday fashion parade in Harajuku. He had been very frightened of the language barrier but I assured him it was not as big a problem as he feared, I hope he is having a great summer.
Friday dawned and it was my last full day in Tokyo and it was going to be a scorcher. I walked down to Ueno Park and had some breakfast, no sightseeing plans today, just take it easy and wander around. Ueno is a really big park so I set out to explore it, there is a small but very cool zoo, I did not go in as the lines were huge with of course hundreds of school children. The natural history museum at the north end has a full size blue whale outside, very cool.
It was now getting on for lunch time and I fancied a department store restaurant, they are without doubt the best value, so I jumped on the Ginza line subway and went to Shinjuku, which is the last stop and is conveniently located in the East-West mall where the fourth floor is a foodies heaven.
I chose a traditional looking Japanese restaurant and it was superb, a mix of sushi and tempura.
After lunch I decided to visit the Akinabari district, which is where they sell all the electronics. I was interested to see if I could find a compact video/mp3 player but after traipsing through about 6 different multi floored shops I could find nothing, tons of mini computers and dvd players. Some of the mini laptops were ridiculously cheap ($400) but they had no operating system and you would have to deal with a Japanese keyboard.
It was now about 5pm and a beautiful afternoon I decided to walk back to The Oak which was about 3 subway stops.
Later I headed to Popeye’s for my last pints of Yona Yona, being Friday night the place was packed, but everybody squished up and made room for my at the bar, Aoki-san directing everything, he had purposely sat me next to Fernando, who spoke English and Japanese with a slight American accent, turned out he was originally from Detroit but now lived in Germany and came to Japan about 5/6 times a year. He is an automotive engineer and would love to live in Japan, he has had several offers but the wife and kids are settled in Germany, that’s that.
Naturally we struck up a great conversation about beers, he was very knowledgeable and had been frequenting Popeye’s for years, he knew all the locals. I was having a great time but like all things it was coming to an end, it was past 11pm and I had to think about catching 2 trains. Fernando on the other hand was booked into the hotel right around the corner, which is where I will be staying next time.
Saturday dawned another scorcher, I had to be checked out by 10am which left a rather long time to kill as my flight was not until 7:30pm. I left my bag at reception and decided to have one last look at Harajuku, while not quiet up to the Sunday show it was still the most interesting place on Saturday and from there I would be able to walk down to Shibuya and have that great lunch again.
Of course the best laid plans always go awry, by the time I got to Shibuya starving and thirsty, the mall was packed and there was a forty – fifty minute wait for a table, I did not have the time or patience so I had to settle for a western looking café across the way. It could have been worse, they had a beer lovers special on which consisted of a broiled sliced steak cooked with ginger & garlic, potatoes and a half liter of Sapporo beer, all for Y1650 ($15), a bargain and it was good.
Well that was it, time to head back to The Oak, grab my bag and head for Narita, the adventure was over.
Instead of the Narita Express which I would have to go to Tokyo station to catch and pay Y3140 ($30) I took the regular Keisei Limited Express from Ueno for Y1000 ($9.50), I was planning on taking the Keisei Skyliner but the next one was not for 30 mins and I did not feel like waiting to pay an extra Y950.
I had naturally checked out all the lounges at Narita in www.flyertalk.com and discovered that JAL had renovated both the main terminal and annex lounges at terminal 2 but had not installed showers so as I was hot and sticky from running around I went to the American Airlines Admirals club and got a shower cubicle right away. What bliss to take a long relaxing shower before a trans pacific flight only to be made better by not having to do it on AA but JAL.
After my shower I check-out there food offerings and they were abysmal, I grabbed a quick gin n tonic and headed for the JAL Sakura lounge.
All I can say is WOW, it was amazing, huge comfortable club chairs everywhere and 3 bars all with a panoramic view of the airport. I grabbed a beer from the automated machine and wandered around but what really got my attention was the terrific aroma of beef curry wafting through the air.
At the bottom of a grand semi circular stairway was a sign pointing up to the “food bar”, lead on McDuff and up I went.
Downstairs had wowed me but this was just another world, to my right was a 30 foot martini bar over looking the tarmac, to the right was a full bar and in the middle, 2 food counters, 1 hot and 1 cold. The hot had miso soup, sticky rice and beef curry. The cold had sushi and salads, my god what was the first class lounge like?
The lounge was very busy as there were a lot of late afternoon flights, I had plenty of time so I sat up at the martini bar and had another G ‘n T, looking out at the tarmac I counted 17 Boeing 747’s, a magnificent sight. The destination board beside me showed they were headed all over the world but the one at gate 64 in front of me was only going to Nagoya, a 2 hour train ride from central Tokyo!!
After a lot of the crowd left I grabbed some curry, it was perfect to bridge the gap between lunch and dinner on board, the food and wine offerings in JAL biz class are far ahead of any American carrier.
The flight was very uneventful and I managed to sleep for 6 hours.
What a shock it is to land back at JFK, 90 + degrees, hazy, hot & humid.
